This episode is sponsored by
Squarespace
(100th Episode)
Yep
In four years, I made over 100 videos
Talking about movies from around the world
And over those four years
Many viewers have also expressed interest in making videos
About their native film industries
It's surreal to me that people see me as an inspiration
But I guess the best thing I can do now is to help!
I wouldn't say I'm an expert at it
But I have become somewhat proficient at creating videos
So, if you want to do the same
This is the episode for you
Today, let me show you the behind-the-scenes
A step-by-step quick explaination
On how to be a smart-ass
This is how I make video essays
[How I Make Video Essays]
[Chapter One]
[Topic]
Ideas are never in short supply
Some topics came from commenters and Patreon suggestions
But most are just random ideas that I'm passionate about
However, it's one thing to think of a cool topic
It's another thing to make it viable
There's a reason why I haven't talked about Malayalam films
Or Filipino cinema
The biggest huddle is always finding the films in the first place
It's difficult to find foreign movies here in North America
Even when you try to torrent
The films often come with watermarks or burn-in subtitles...
Or porn ads
I'm not gonna use that
This is why we made so many Jackie Chan videos
His movies are just infinitely more available
[Research]
Research is where the bulk of the production time is spent on
(Watching movies)
Here is the watch list I made
In preparation for our videos on Jackie Chan's recent career
Watching so many movies is surprisingly mentally taxing
I have to pause to take notes
As a result, a 2-hour long movie takes me 4 hours to finish
RRR took me 3 days
At this step, I don't know what specific angle I'd approach the topic
So, I'd just write down everything that catches my eye
While watching the films
Writing down my complaints also helps me cope
(Readings)
But watching the movies alone is never enough
It's important to have a comprehensive understanding
On each and every topic I want to talk about
High Risk accuses Jackie of being a fraud
So, I had to look into if Jackie Chan uses stunt doubles
Kung Fu Panda caused a debate in China
So, I dug up Chinese news and reviews of the film
The Autobots was one of the most shameless movies ever made
So, I had to watch cute Vtubers afterward to keep my sanity in check
Being able to read Chinese is a big advantage
You'd usually see me show newspaper clippings in the videos
Those came from the research process
This is also why I still feel quite uncomfortable
When talking about Indian or Malaysian or Korean cinema
My ability to research is much more limited
[Thesis]
A thesis is a statement I want to make about a certain topic
It's important that I *don't* make my thesis before the research
Because a lot of assumptions we hold are simply not true
It would be pretty awkward to make a video
About Jackie doing his own stunt
Only to find out during research that...
He uses doubles
On rare occasions
I have such a strong emotional reaction to a film
The notes itself is more or less the entire script
Mulan is one such instance
Hatred turns out to be a great motivator
But in most cases, the process requires a lot more soul searching
I felt that Rurouni Kenshin was written as an allegory
But about what?
Is it about the rising tension in East Asia?
The trauma of WWII?
Or brewing nationalism in Japan?
They all sound possible
So, more targeted research has to be done, oh joy
The more I read
The more I debunk my own interpretations
Until I find a thesis with strong enough arguments
It's only then I start writing the actual script
[Sponsored Message]
Partway through production
I also have to work on sponsorships
Such as this segment, sponsored by Squarespace
So, here is how I create the sponsored message
I usually like to lead with a demo website that I made
Here's one for the 100th video celebration
I then showcase the process of making said website
From choosing a template
To editing texts
And uploading images
All of this takes only minutes, by the way
Other strong points worth highlighting are the robust analytics tools
The free trial that doesn't require a credit card
And the 24/7 customer support, etc.
Start your free trial at squarespace.com/accentedcinema​
And use code ACCENTEDCINEMA
To get 10% off your first purchase
I know I say that every single video
But I do record new audio for every new video
I really do recommend Squarespace to anyone who needs a website
So, if you have a business or just need to show off yourself
Give Squarespace a shot!
[Chapter Two]
[Writing]
I came from a background in fiction films
So, I often frame our videos as stories rather than reports
I don't want to simply explain Tony Leung's acting techniques
I want to show the evolution of his acting style
It has to be a story about how a master improves himself
It's one thing to know how a man changed LGBT cinema
It's another thing to feel the love we have for Leslie Cheung
It's not enough to know Pure Hearts is the worst movie ever made
You have to feel the existential dread
We need emotional content
Our script usually goes through two revisions
Reorganizing ideas to flow better
Shorten sentences, and cut out unnecessary lines
I talk pretty slowly for a YouTuber
So, it's important to keep things concise
[Editing]
Once I have the final draft, editing begins immediately
(Narration Recording)
Voice-over is the backbone of our videos
Visuals are added on top of the narration
As you can see, it's not a single continuous audio track
To further tighten the pace
Once recorded, I'd go in and remove the pauses
Yeah, you can tell I'm very self-conscious
In the past, I even sped up my voice a little in post
But these days, I'm better at embracing the slowness
ASMR, amirite?
(Video Editing)
When think of YouTube
Most people think of video editing
But really, editing is the most boring part
Since my notes have time codes
By the time I'm writing a script
I already know what visuals to use and where to find them
I'll just have to fill in the gaps with relevant clips I can think of
After four years, my head had become a repository of random clips
If I need a random shot of a... I don't know, cleavage
I can take that from Mysterious Island, Khepri
Bunshinsaba, Inside the Girls, Huge Shark, Midnight Hair...
If you just turned your head because I said "cleavage"...
Hi, please subscribe?
Our videos often contain clips from somewhere between 5 to 40 films
Random clips just live rent-free in my head
Ready to be used at any moment
That's why I don't hire editors
[Chapter 3]
[Publishing]
Finish, export
When you think it's done, it's never done
Thumbnails, video descriptions, and subtitles
Have to be made before publishing
A frequently asked question is how do I deal with copyright claims
In truth, other than keeping individual clips short
There really is nothing I can do
If any clips cause the video to be claimed
I'll have to cut it down and re-upload
This channel gets copyright claimed about twice a year
Most of the time I dispute it
But there are times I just have to let the video go unmonetized
Captions are also particularly annoying
I can upload the script and let YouTube automatically set the timing
However, the result is always blocky and hard to read
Captions are important for viewers with hearing or visual difficulties
So, it's worth the effort to manually adjust individual lines
I also have to translate them into Simplified and Traditional Chinese
Keeping in mind the lingo differences between languages
It adds another 2 to 3 hours of work
But it's for accessibility
Which, unlike YouTube, I think it is massively important
[Publicity]
A few days before the video goes live I'd post a list of films to watch in the community tab
Many viewers seem to like to watch the films ahead of our videos
It's surreal how seriously people take our channel's opinions
I'm honored
Come the day of the video going live
We have to update Twitter, Facebook, and Patreon
And I also stay active in the comments for about an hour
Replying to everyone
Doesn't matter how many times I've done this
It's always the same feeling
I always think my latest video sucks
And your comments always make me feel like the king of the world
[Conclusion]
On average, a video takes 10 work days to make
About 80 hours in total
Although, I'll be honest
A couple of those hours may have been me procrastinating on Reddit
It's basically a full-time job
And indeed, I do get an equivalent of full time pay
I used to be a wedding videographer
And the pay is a lot higher than what I get today
But I never want to go back to that soul-crushing industry
In there, nothing I do feels fulfilling
In all 100 videos
The most satisfying part is seeing people's reactions
Happy to relive nostalgic memories
Delighted to discover new movies
The fact that people are excited
To see their country appear on this channel
Is perhaps the best compliment I can imagine
I love doing this
And if you want to do this, I hope you have fun, too!
See you next time at Christmas